Donald Trump

Saturday, September 6, 2014

If my kid is arrested for smoking marijuana in my house, can I lose the house?

If the prosecutor has evidence that you knew that illegal
activity was taking place in your home and did not try to stop it, you
could lose your house. It is unlikely that you would lose your house
merely because your child was arrested for using marijuana there.

Under federal and state laws, law enforcement officers can seize
property if the property is used to commit a crime (or is purchased with
money earned from criminal activity). The seizure is known as
“forfeiture,” and it’s done without compensation to the owner. In short,
you can lose your house if there’s probable cause (reason to believe)
that the property was involved in illegal activity, including drug sales
and, in some states, drug use.

The purpose of forfeiture laws is to make sure crime does not pay,
but the simple truth is that seizures produce revenue for law
enforcement agencies. As a result, some police departments and
prosecutors use forfeiture aggressively, even when there is little
evidence of illicit activity on the part of the owner.

Forfeiture: Civil and Criminal

Forfeiture can be civil or criminal. In criminal forfeiture, the
defendant is first convicted of a crime that allows for forfeiture, such
as drug trafficking or money laundering. Then, if the prosecutor can
prove that the defendant’s property was earned from or used in illegal
activity, the government seizes that property.

In civil forfeiture, the owner does not need to be convicted of (or
even charged with) a crime. Civil forfeiture laws allow law enforcement
officers to seize property that they suspect is connected to criminal
activity. Then, it’s up to the owner to show that the property has no
connection to any crime. In some states, the mere personal use of
marijuana will not result in the seizure of real property.